Transfer Williams lends experience, immediate help at offensive tackle
The Hurricanes have turned to the transfer portal once again, this time to bolster one of the shakiest positions on the roster.
Jarrid Williams, an offensive lineman from the Houston Cougars, is transferring to Miami. The 6-7, 305-pound lineman announced his decision with a Twitter post Sunday.
“I have been blessed with the opportunity to be recruited by and learn from some amazing football coaches,” Williams wrote, then listed out all the schools he was considering. “With that being said I have decided to finish my career and get my Master’s Degree at the University of Miami.”
Williams will be a redshirt senior in the fall and will be eligible to play immediately for the Hurricanes. It will be his sixth and final season of eligibility after he took a medical redshirt in 2019 because of an ankle injury. He picked Miami from a top group, which also included Florida State, Mississippi, Baylor and Southern California.
Williams is the second offensive lineman the Hurricanes have added through the transfer portal this offseason. Last month, offensive lineman Isaiah Walker Jr. transferred from the University of Florida to hometown Miami before ever playing a game in Gainesville. Unlike Williams, Walker will likely have to sit out the 2020 season.
Either way, offensive line coach Garin Justice has entirely reshaped his position group since arriving in Coral Gables in January.
Although all six offensive linemen who started games for the Hurricanes last year are back for 2020, Justice had some playing different positions in the spring before COVID-19 cut short spring practices.
He then helped lure
Walker, an Under Armour All-American, back to Miami-Dade County and now has Williams in the fold, too. Walker and fellow freshman offensive lineman Jalen Rivers, both of whom played in the Under Armour All-America Game in January, should be long-term fixtures in the offensive line mix.
With Walker and Williams both joining the Hurricanes, Miami has used the transfer portal to give the offensive line a shortterm boost and a long-term infusion. Williams started 17 games at right tackle for
Houston the last two years and was a preseason second-team all-American Athletic Conference selection by Athlon before last season.
Williams, who has a prototypical frame and experience, should compete for a starting job immediately and will likely be tasked with helping protect quarterback D’Eriq King, who also transferred to Miami from the Cougars earlier this year.
At tackle, Williams will battle primarily with Zion Nelson and DJ Scaife Jr., who started every game at left and right tackle, respectively.
The Hurricanes also bring back offensive linemen Navaughn Donaldson, John Campbell Jr., Jakai Clark and Corey Gaynor — Campbell and Donaldson both have some experience at tackle. Justice will have options to choose from when he picks his starting alignment later this summer.
Williams’ addition should effectively end Miami’s offseason overhaul. Since the season ended with an embarrassing 14-0 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl, the Hurricanes replaced the offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and wide receivers coach, signed a top-15 recruiting class and landed five of the top transfers on the market.
Williams joins a long list of portal prizes to pick Miami, including King, Walker, All-American defensive lineman Quincy Roche and kicker Jose Borregales.